Menstruation. It’s the darkest part of the month for women. To obtain a greater understanding of why menstruation is so dreadful, we decided to reach out via social media to determine if there are any underlying behavioral patterns.
Thanks to Facebook advertising and the online software Survey Monkey, we were able to target our demographics and include 2,000 young women aged 18 to 29 from the United States.
There were two groups of 1,000 participants and two surveys in the study. In the first survey, group one was asked to list in a large text box the top three behavioral patterns that had the greatest impact on their menstruation cycle. In a separate survey, group two was asked to indicate which of the following factors impacted their menstrual cycle: work anxiety, smoking, exercise, caffeine, antidepressants, and antipsychotics.
The Results
After analyzing the data from the first group, it was determined that work-related anxiety, caffeine, and smoking were the three most influential factors on one’s menstruation. According to the results, a staggering 98 percent of participants cited workplace anxiety or stress as one of three factors that made menstruation worse.
78 percent of participants typed caffeine, followed by 69 percent who typed smoking cigarettes or tobacco. In addition, less than 15% of participants cited alcohol, marijuana use, and fatty food consumption as one of the three contributing factors.
When analyzing the second group of 1,000 participants, it was determined that work anxiety or stress, caffeine, smoking, physical activity, antidepressants, and antipsychotics had the greatest impact on their menstrual cycles.
Work Anxiety, Caffeine, & Smoking: Why?
Workplace stress can lead to excessive worry, anxiety, and even depression. If you disregard stressors, it can have a significant impact on your menstrual cycle. So learn to restrain your stress; don’t let it control you.
Caffeine, particularly in soft drinks, may exacerbate cramps and irritability. Additionally, it can make it difficult to sleep at night, frequently resulting in dreadful bouts of insomnia.
And lastly, smoking. It is one that many people overlook for a variety of reasons, But how does it affect menstruation? Smoking can alter the levels of estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone, as well as other hormones that play a critical part in the development of premenstrual syndrome. It also increases the likelihood that some individuals will combine smoking with alcohol, which is likely to make your period noticeably worse.